


You Can't Take the Isle Out of the Kid

by oof_ohno



Series: Auradon Casts Dark Shadows [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Angst, But also, Character Study, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, basically just how the vks still struggle with their new life, like i know that they chose good, you cant just completely unlearn abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28578882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oof_ohno/pseuds/oof_ohno
Summary: It may seem like all is well but there are still lasting effects on the core 4. Abuse doesn't just go away if you take a child out of the situation.
Series: Auradon Casts Dark Shadows [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094000
Comments: 3
Kudos: 103





	You Can't Take the Isle Out of the Kid

Fairy Godmother said that they had graduated the goodness class. Sometimes however, they weren’t so sure. While they certainly understood what she had been trying to teach, once in awhile, they all felt so very lost in this new world of Auradon. They certainly knew that nigh everything they were taught was incorrect but sometimes, it was harder to see what was wrong about what they did and knowing something was wrong didn’t make it so that they understood. 

The kids never quite got used to accepting things given to them. They had learned on the isle that nothing was free. No one simply gave anyone else something without ulterior motives. Everything had a price. The first time someone tried to give them something was Ben, who had come by with a box of chocolates. As soon as he set it down and said it was for them, the four had tensed. Through his entire visit to them after that, as well as several days after, they were all on edge, though clearly trying not to show it. 

It was finally Mal who had demanded to know what Ben wanted. It took several frustrating minutes for Ben to even understand the question. When he did, he said he didn’t want anything. Mal - and Evie who was with her - scoffed. Ben had given them a strange look and reiterated that there was nothing that he wanted from them. When the two clearly didn’t believe him, he said that he had wanted to make friends but they didn’t have to choose to be friends with him. 

This brought up a few questions on what exactly ‘friends’ meant, a discussion that absolutely broke Ben’s heart. He got the feeling that friendship was not something really allowed on the isle. Mal had described the four of them as a ‘gang’ and both she and Evie denied friendship with one another. While he wasn’t quite certain how to explain it, Ben did his best to do so to the girls. Though, when they split, he was fairly sure that they didn’t really get what he had been trying to say. 

Another thing that they had certainly held over from the isle was their food habits. The four of them had slowed down eating from the beginning but they were very protective over their food from anyone other than the other 3. However, once people began to accept the villains’ kids, one thing they did continue to do was save food. They were subtle about it, quietly hiding things in napkins if they weren’t finished or nabbing a few extra treats before they left but it was noticeable enough. Especially if you were looking for it. 

Then, of course, was the question of what they were doing with that food. Students that spent time in the rooms of the four figured out rather quickly. If someone expressed a desire to eat, they would be hesitantly offered some food. Food that was clearly taken from the dining hall and kept from spoiling via a spell from Mal. No one commented on it to the four, knowing that they would become defensive but sometimes those who were friends with the kids quietly discussed it with one another. 

The Isle of the Lost seemed to have worse conditions than they thought. 

Though, that wasn’t even touching on the struggles that each of them had individually. A battle within themselves against what they had been taught their entire lives. 

Evie had difficulty with eating enough. Even though it was clear that she felt just as hungry and protective of her food, she still always hesitated before eating and constantly had to be cajoled to eat more. Her mother’s words ringing through her head about beauty and how she had to be. Just like how she always got up two hours earlier than Mal in order to do her hair and makeup for the day. How she was always comparing her looks and outfit to others despite the constant reassurances from Doug and the rest of her friends. 

She also felt completely on the wrong foot when Doug got angry at her for flirting with another guy in order to get some help. When that happened, Evie didn’t understand what the problem was. Was it because she was trying to get something without giving something equal in return? This question was quickly answered by Ben. Doug felt that she didn’t like him as much as she said she did. That her trying to seduce someone made her seem unfaithful. 

The other three all catalogued this information as well. The use of flirting was heavily frowned upon if it was not for someone that they wanted to date. Even though on the isle it was simply something that happened. If you fell for someone’s seduction, it was your fault for being taken advantage of. No matter whether the person seducing had a partner already. Ben promised to talk to Doug about it, seeing that Evie was still confused on what he had explained. 

Jay made sure to remember what Ben had explained to Evie. The two of them had always been the ones to flirt the most from their upbringing. Though, their reasons for flirting weren’t quite the same. Evie was always told to use it to get whatever she wanted. Jay used it as a deflection, a way to prevent people from noticing if he stole something or convincing them to let him off. He had been doing it all his life. Even with his new life, that didn’t change. 

Nor did his stealing habits. He often caught himself thinking about how much something would be worth or how he could take it from them. When he got back to the dorm, he always found his pockets filled with things he had taken without even noticing. It was so hard to unlearn pickpocketing everyone he saw. Mal had some issue with it too from what Jay could see but he had it far worse. After all, he couldn’t just stop doing something he had been taught to do since almost before he could walk. 

He always did his best to return what he could but sometimes, he simply couldn’t remember who he had taken it from. Ben had noticed his plight eventually and mentioned that perhaps he could give those things to the Lost and Found. Which Jay did in fact take his advice on once he had gotten an explanation on what exactly that was. 

Mal also began to put things she had taken absentmindedly to the Lost and Found. She however found herself struggling with other things. While she certainly understood that her upbringing was wrong, sometimes (often) she wasn’t quite sure how wrong. It was unnerving to not be able to use whatever tools she had to get what she wanted. There were unspoken rules about what was acceptable or not and Mal sometimes just felt so lost on what she could or couldn’t do. After all, she was taught that, if she had something, she could use it in order to get anything she couldn’t take. 

Then, there was also the fact that she didn’t have as much power in Auradon as she’d had on the isle. Before, she had been the queen of the isle - apart from Uma’s territory of course (but even there she was still feared). No one messed with her and she could get anything she wanted. 

On the other hand, in Auradon, she found herself in a completely different role. People certainly feared her but it was in a different way. It was less of her power and ability to cause repercussions and more to do with the fact that her mother was evil and that she was often a rulebreaker (whether on purpose or not). This meant that people would still avoid her but it was different. It wasn’t a sort of avoidance of reverence of her power but more of one of dislike or discomfort. Sometimes, her skin would itch because of this. She was trying her best to get used to not being a leader or revered in a way but it was tough. Especially since she was surrounded by people who were princes and princesses all the time. They were to inherit kingdoms while she was only here because of the kindness of Ben. Relying on someone else’s power who wasn’t her mother was very uncomfortable and often terrifying. Having to do so made her feel much more vulnerable than she had in a long time. Just like the others, she found herself shying away from many of the adults and people in positions of power at the school. 

Though, Mal’s fear of adults had nothing on Carlos’. Despite the fact that he had never seen any of them lay a hand on any of the other students, he still found himself flinching when a teacher raised their voice. When someone was in trouble, he always tensed up, waiting to see what the punishment was. If he needed to ask Mal or Jay to stop anything bad from happening. If he needed to run. He always did his best to sit somewhere that he could reach the door quickly and one where he could see the majority of the room. 

He hardly ever spoke up in class and any time a teacher lingered near him, Carlos found himself unable to focus. It was all he could do to not bolt. The first time a teacher asked him to stay after class, he almost threw up from the stress. The teacher only wanted to let him know that he had done impressively well on the exam they had taken and had wanted to ask whether he would be interested in being moved to a higher class. Carlos had agreed quickly and all but ran out of the room before holing up under his bed for a bit. 

While he liked Dude very much and didn’t feel as bad about dogs as before, there was still some residual fear. If he saw a large dog or a group of dogs, it was still all he could do to tamp down the fear he had. His mother’s hold was still strong on him. Of that he was reminded whenever he itched to clean something and when he couldn’t sleep on the bed at school because it was too soft it almost made his skin crawl. 

The thing that the Auradonians didn’t get was that things didn’t magically disappear. The abuse that they suffered and the horrible things that they had experienced didn’t stop affecting them, even long after getting off the Isle of the Lost. It was the same as the other children from the island, none of them ever felt quite comfortable in their new surroundings. They never felt quite right where they were. Certainly much happier but still so different. Alienated from the others that had grown up in Auradon. It would never be fully okay but it was getting better. 


End file.
